The Joy Valley Turtle

By Andrew J. Lubbers and Sonny Heston

The Joy Valley Turtle is a childrens chapter book about a turtle in Northern Michigan who finds himself far from home and must overcome many hardships to find his way back. During the turtles adventurous trip home, he must find ways to stay positive and keep moving forward or risk delaying the return to his family. Along the way Turtle finds the importance of friendship and discovers help in the most unusual ways.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Nov 14, 2014
• ISBN: 9781496995117

Andrew J. Lubbers

Andrew Lubbers is a writer who graduated with the highest honor status from Ashford University a year ago and has written numerous papers for technology organizations. Andrew has honed his love of writing to create a timeless story and is now a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, known as SCBWI. As a worldwide traveler, Andrew spends most of his time away from home. When Andrew does go home, it’s to Northern Michigan, where he spends his time with his family, enjoying the best Michigan has to offer.

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AuthorHouse™ UK

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© 2014 Andrew J. Lubbers. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,

or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 11/14/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4969-9510-0 (sc)

      978-1-4969-9511-7 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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Contents

Chapter One: The Start of a Spring Day

Chapter Two: New Friends

Chapter Three: Flying South

Chapter Four: A Long Walk on a Short Log

Chapter Five: Finding the Way

CHAPTER SIX: Walking in the Woods

CHAPTER SEVEN: Worries and Fear

CHAPTER EIGHT: A Quick Good-bye

Chapter Nine: Facing Fears

Chapter Ten: Finding the Way

Chapter Eleven: On with the Day

Chapter Twelve: The End Will Never Come

Chapter Thirteen: Surprise from Above

Chapter Fourteen: Finally Home

About the Author

To my family, whom I always miss and love, and to whom I can never get home fast enough.

Chapter One: The Start of a Spring Day

It was a beautiful spring morning in Joy Valley: the sun was warm, the trees were budding, the flowers were in bloom, and all the animals were eager to be about after the long, cold winter. One animal in particular, Turtle, was enjoying the pleasant day more than any of the others. Turtle had taken a short walk from his nest and was basking on a log that was precariously laying over the edge of the Minnehaha Creek. Still soaking up the sun’s warmth, Turtle was surprised to find he was only slightly hungry. He realized it was because he was enjoying the moment so much that he had no need for food.

Despite the lack of fresh food during the long winter, Turtle could only think of how great life was. Cozy in their nest, Turtle had a lovely wife and beautiful children he loved so dearly. The sun was warm and comforting, the Minnehaha Creek bountiful with trout, and insects and vegetation were abundant. It was as if life could not be better. Once Turtle had absorbed how blessed he was, he decided it was time to eat.

When Turtle started walking from the log toward the edge of Minnehaha’s dense brush to look for insects, the log cracked and slipped into the water. At first Turtle thought to himself, I’m not ready to swim just yet. Then he realized it was as good a time to swim as any.

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The very moment Turtle thought about going into the water he noticed how much faster the Minnehaha’s current was compared to last year, and there seemed to be more rocks closer to the surface than usual. Maybe it was the speed he was moving at that was making the rocks seem more threatening, or maybe there were just more rocks. Just as Turtle pondered this, the log caught one of the rocks and threw Turtle far up into the air.

Turtle’s flight into the air was actually not very high; it was more of a direct flight path right above the surface, and depending on opinion, it was either good luck or bad luck that it happened at a straight section of the creek. If the section of creek had turned, Turtle would have been shot into the thick brush and may have been hurt. But he would still be close to home. Sunken into his shell, Turtle would never think about if he was lucky or not. Instead, his main worries were whether he would ever land and if it would hurt. When he did land, it was with a splash. While very scared from the flight, Turtle was unhurt and somewhat relieved he did not hit one of the vicious-looking rocks he had seen earlier.

Still hidden in his shell, Turtle floated along the Minnehaha Creek, waiting to see if he would smash into something and get hurt. Thoughts of those nasty rocks returned every time he thought of sticking his head out for a peek, so he kept floating along. Turtle then realized the creek did not feel any faster than it usually did. Slowly and cautiously, Turtle poked his feet out. Well, just one at first, to test the water. Yep! It was cold, and it made Turtle miss the warm sun he had felt earlier. Soon after he worked his other legs free, he started swimming. After Turtle was sure there was no harm to be had from the creek, he peeked out to find the Minnehaha flowing the same as always. The only problem now was that nothing looked familiar to him. Turtle was somewhere on the creek that was a long way from home.

Once Turtle became comfortable in the water again he swiftly swam to the bank and climbed out. Knowing he had just floated downstream, he knew he would only have to walk or swim up river. But oh, how far it must be! And swimming upstream